Live Chat: The Murder of Sister Valsa

Reader response was strong to WSJ India’s five-part series on the life and death of Sister Valsa John Malamel, a Christian nun and activist working in rural India. It’s a tale of greed, lust, friendship, betrayal, faith and brutality set against the conflict between two major forces shaping India’s future: Industrialization and the preservation of traditional ways of life. Series reporters Krishna Pokharel and Paul Beckett answered reader questions on Feb. 7. Replay the event.

Full transcript follows:

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Looking forward to the chat. Leave your questions and comments by clicking on the Comment Now tab above.

Folks: we’re interested in hearing from you too on what you thought of our format in telling this story. we did a serialization as newspapers of old used to do with dickens novels. it was an experiment to see if readers would come back day after day. did you? thanks and look forward to chatting tuesday, paul

Hi everyone, welcome to our WSJ Livechat on India Real Time’s serialized investigation on the death of Sister Valsa John Malamel. we’d love to hear your thoughts — positive and negative – and will do our best to answer your questions on her or on the reporting, or other related topics. thanks and best, Paul Beckett

Indeed a good job of doing investigative journalism although the tone is biased. But how come you have been only been interested in this story of Sister Valsa in India and missed out on at least another such 50 stories across India?

thanks sam: i’d like to know more about what bias you saw. we certainly didn’t intend to promote a viewpoint with the story. instead we viewed it simply as you might view a good novel — a human drama revolving around big themes that are playing out across India. we felt, as another reader put it more succinctly than we could, that this tale had a “certain universality”…

sam: as for the other part about what why we haven’t covered more of these stories. there are certainly more stories we will follow. but we have done a lot. this was an experiment in presentation. but we spent last year on a series called Flawed Miracle that looked at tough situations for the poor in India. we also have written about murdered Right to Information activists. and we did an in-depth report on a truck driver killed by policemen in Uttar Pradesh which we can post.

I think the way the conversion to Christianity is happening in tribal village is really creating big scenes in different villages in rural India. It is important not confront with local religion and belief. She is perhaps the victim of such a situation

thanks abraham: no doubt the clash of a religions in rural India, and how that also is tied to India’s history of colonialism, is an immensely complicated topic. one that deserves more attention by us and others. that said, from our reporting we got a picture of sister valsa that was as much activist as nun. she didn’t, according to villagers, proselytize and clashed in some ways with her own order. i don’t think ultimately religion was behind her death but other very human factors.

The courage of the WSJ reporters is only exceeded by that of Sisters Valsa and the families and individuals she tried to help. Greater India will not stand for coverups and atrocities. I will follow this story as the WSJ publishes it, as I am sure millions on the subcontinent will.

The real issue is that, Christian conversion of tribal people with money, for ulterior motives. Millions of People in India were converted into Christianity by this way, people here make huge money through this, it is a business. Pope must stop this kind of activities, and keep nuns and priests from converting religions of tribal people. Take this matter seriously, else more and more people who try to convert Hindus to Christianity can get killed, this is the truth.

Sad to see the rampant conversion of tribal…the cultural colonisation of India continues….the Christians that are facing empty churches in the west are turning to poor countries like India and ancient philosophies and tribes getting lost…shame.

I have employed young women from the villages of Jharkhand for close to 20 years. Each of them came to us via convents similar to those menioned in the article. All 4 of them over the years have told similar tales of being enticed into Christianity through offers of food, English instruction, placement in jobs in cities where they can earn 10 times what they could in their villages and so on. While the convents say they do not require conversion to avail these services in reality the names of th villagers move up the list only when they start attending services regularly and taking part in Chritistian rituals. “Bread christians” is what these people are called and the fact that this destruction of indigenous culture continues in independent India is deplorable. We need laws to restrict the activities of these groups with their endless supply of money from the west

thanks all: clearly the issue of catholicism and rural india touches a major nerve and understandably so. and i know that buns and bibles, as i have also heard it called, has been a mark — and in my view an unfortunate mark — of proselytization the world over. still, i can only report on what we discovered in Pachwara. Sister Valsa was asked to move by her order which feared for her safety. and instead she stayed as it was the place where she believed she had found her life’s work: helping the poor (note, not converting the poor.) there is a big history here but i don’t think it is one that is necessarily useful in assessing her life and work.

kansan: certainly the house where sister valsa lived for 13 years — and where one of her alleged murderers also lived – was a house that was inhabited by Protestant Christians. so i dont believe that religion played a part in the motivation of one of her killers.

Why is this WSJ correspondent so obsessed with issues like Sis. Valsa. Why is he so disinterested in the Indian economy? What does WSJ want? Sob stories featuring rape victims or gyrations of the Sensex and the economy?

SK Modi: please log onto india.wsj.com. there we run between 25 and 30 stories A DAY centered around the Indian economy, the Sensex, the government, corporate India. we are the wall street journal after all. but we also have interest in reporting on all parts of indian life and society and this struck us as a compelling story.

Also SK Modi, as we have noted earlier, the story of Sister Valsa isn’t about her alone. The story is set against the backdrop of two major forces shaping India’s present and the future: Industrialization and the preservation of traditional ways of life. That’s a huge issue for all companies doing business in India.

James Ewins: thanks. corruption obviously is endemic in almost all aspects of life in India. i dont think anyone would disagree with that. a follow-up question is: will people always accept it? i think anna hazare’s campaign last year showed that people are becoming fed up with the culture of corruption — whether it will fundamentally change the country remains to be seen

Actually u guys refuse to use such opportunities to understand the Indian economy. Have you examined how the economy on Sis. Valsa’s village works? How many have bank accounts and how the money travels? What is the structure of the village economy? Has the MNREGA changed it?

thanks SK Modi for your further observations. Half of my day? ha, only i can know that (unless you are in the office!) and believe me i have a lot more on my plate. be that as it may, we do look at the rural economy — we looked at how villagers have been enriched by the mining company. and we wrote a major feature last year about the nrega and its local impact.

This sad story hurts my soul. Poor Sister Valsa; but she is surely in Heaven now. How is Surajmuni Hembrom? Most of us can only pray that she have happiness, joy and peace for the rest of her life. Her family seems to sincerely care for her; if only the police and Adwin Murmu had given meaningful respect to her.

Surajmuni Hembrom is of course very scared and as we have noted in final chapter she has been hiding at her relatives’ houses. But she is still determined to train herself as a tailor and her family is supporting her.

Hindus do not want Chrisitanity because it offends old order of bribery and corruption and in order to preserve this status quo, Hindus will oppose Christianity. Mayur Patel Kanaiyalal personally knows Murmur family as good Hindus. Of course, nothing else would be done! Indian is right, Hindus do not want their world changed – never have rights been given to woman until Judaism or Christianity, this must not happen here or there will be trouble.

I am deeply sorry and feel enraged for the young lady, her parents and sister Valsa. This is barbaric and nothing short of it. I am worried if local media would not pick up such news and report it. This requires reporting in mainstream news, if the family wants even a semblance of justice. I hope Indian news media will pick this up and report it on first page.

at indian mainstream news: this was covered in the mainstream indian press but not in-depth. the news cycle moves quickly on — which is why we chose to dig in on this story because we thought it ought to be told. fortunately it has got widespread attention as a result

Its sad when some one wants to help and its taken otherwise, and personal interest is bigger then the good for entire village. Sorry for Sister Valsa, she had courage and she faced, with her back to the wall, she is in haven just watching the mess left, that she could have made a better place. God bless her soul, and be with other who are still struggling for the what Sister Valsa gave her life. Justis will be done, one day, all have to pay for what they are doing. Praise the lord.

Vas: i think it’s worth defining coal mafia in this instance. from our reporting what we found, according to witness statements etc., was that her alleged killers wanted more direct dealings with the local mining company and many of them held contracts with the company. the police also are investigating whether PANEM the company was involved. it denies any involvement. so coal appears to have been a central element, but mafia needs defining.

Sister Valsa John’s death appears to have been at the hands of both villagers resentful of her role in distributing PANEM compensation money and Maoists/Naxalites hoping to overturn and disrupt everything in their way to power. Are such ad hoc alliances common in rural India? Does the central govt have any control over what industrial octopuses like PANEM are doing to agricultural villages life in places like Jharkhand? I live in New York City and am a Catholic. I find the reflexive prejudice and casual violence against Indian Catholics is not really of much or even any concern to the India govt. Are there any prospects for altering this? Finally, is there any worthy recipient for a donation in Sr. Valsa John’s name?

Krishnakahn I admire the legendary work many Christian missionaries have done but trust me, no Hindu temple has ever asked recipients of its largesse to convert. That is the difference. Sarva dharma … All religions are equal is, sadly, still unique to the Hindus only.

virtualjft: the interaction between maoists and companies is complicated — there are many allegations of rebels shaking down companies to be left alone. indeed that’s what police allege happen jan. 10 in the local mine near Pachwara. PANEM says the rebels are looking for blackmail money. re: investigation: it’s a state matter though some of sister valsa’s supporters want the CBI (india’s FBI) to be involved…

I am glad that WSJ hase mode far away from rich Wall street to poorest countryside of India which is so far neglected by Indian newspaper. We can see only news no analysis in thee the transition time of Indian democracy. Moreover, Indian media only focuses on urban classless, almost forgot what is going on in the rural areas. I hope other Indian medias will learn something. Keep it up.

I’m simply blown away that the WSJ has done a detailed piece personal interest piece at this level of detail about an activist in India. I might expect to see this in the New York times but certainly not the WSJ. Keep up the good work.

I would just like to commend WSJ on such a compelling, moving, and provoking feature. I truly am inspired by this peice not only to raise awareness of the violence that is ever so apparent in the world, but to find justice for Sister Valsa through the nature of her work. The hatred stemming from discrimination of all sorts is truly disgusting in the “modern” society in which we live. May Sister Valsa finally rest in peace and know that her sacrifices were not made in vain.

Reshma: The police will have to file the formal chargesheet against the suspects by Feb.15 which they say they are confident of doing. Police say they will make a “special request” to a local court to initiate the trial on the case on a priority basis. They also say their investigation will continue even after they file the chargesheet. We will keep following the case and reporting on it.

‘”In her small, dark bedroom Sister Valsa cowered under a blanket. She made frantic calls on her cellphone. The compound was surrounded, she told two friends. Then, witnesses testified, a voice in the compound shouted: “Found her.” Then, shouts of “Cut her. Cut her.”’ with witness protection and a competent prosecution team, this case could easily be tried. i think that there would be enough evidence and witnesses. without them, the case may quickly be forgotten.

Your enquiiry should touch aspects such as: Was there a move on the part of her congregation to check Sr.Valsa out of the Congregation and, if so, why, and whether Sr.Valsa’s way of functioning at Pachwara, given her temperaments and mode of action, was in unison with the tribal way of functioning. Was it just lust for money that prompted her own group members to elmininate her? Who else could have worked behind the scene?

chacko anthony: you raise interesting points. many in the village liked what she was doing — others clearly did not. some of the villagers felt she was a polarizing figure who became overly dominant in the village, as we said in the story. she also irritated her fellow nuns because she felt she was living a life closer to the order’s founding principles. that said, she didn’t have a congregation, per se, but many devoted followers in the village.

I met sister Valsa in October last year at Sister Sudha’s shelter home. I had heard from Sister Sudha about the hardships she had gone through and the threats she received on a daily basis. When I met sister Valsa I saw a fearless and loving woman who had nothing but courage to do what she did. She could have chosen to run away from the village and settle down anywhere in India – but she chose not to. Her death is shameful and a tight slap on the face of our democracy. Its saddening that the national media has not broadcasted any news about the investigation. It is important we make some noise and shake the system against such cold blooded murder. I hope we get justice and Sister Valsa’s struggle does not go waste.

Venkat is offering the type of feedback Paul asked for before we began. This project was posted over five days, in chapters, like a Dickens novel in the newspapers of old, as Paul has described. He was curious how that worked for readers.

of course Raj, just let us know where you’d like it to go. (kidding.) the big difference, i should have noted, of course, is that we are reporting non-fiction, in a narrative way, so we’ll go where the story goes.

thanks for the confirmation that both the victim and the perpetrators are christians, this shouldnt be made a religious piece(as it is not), the real discussion should be focused on the state of law and order in india.

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